Habitat and Distribution Modeling for the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense (Colombia) With Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

Iván Darío Valencia

Geographic focus: Colombia / Altiplano Cundiboyacense

Date completed: 2002

Colombia’s Altiplano is the most densely populated region in Colombia, and also serves as important habitat for many threatened animal species. Iván Darío Valencia, a student at the National University of Colombia, in Bogotá, located sites with populations of Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris peregrina) in the Altiplano by means of a habitat model devised with GIS, employing data from field surveys, satellite imagery, maps and aerial photographs.Iván recommended that planners create reserves to protect specific areas with large populations of the Horned Lark, support programs for low-chemical agriculture in designated areas, create a monitoring program to evaluate the change in different Horned Lark populations to evaluate any positive or negative trends, and carry out education campaigns with local people.